| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
admin
Site Admin
Joined: 21 Jan 2005
Posts: 2067
Location: U.S.A
|
 Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:46 pm Post subject: Meet the MiniStack Max |
 |
|
Meet the MiniStack Max
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Posted by: Staff
9to5Mac brings news from the floor of CES about the new MiniStack Max from OWC. It's the long-awaited MiniStack from the company that matches up with the 2010 and 2011 Mac minis. And, boy does this thing ever look worth the wait. It has USB 2.0, USB 3.0, FireWire 800, and eSATA ports on the back. A DVD-R drive and SDXC card reader on the front. And on the inside, there's room for up to a 4TB 3.5-inch hard drive. Now, does that sound awesome or what? The MiniStack Max from OWC is scheduled to start shipping in March. More information on pricing and pre-configured models should come later this month.
http://www.123macmini.com/news/story/1768.html |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
scooper
Veteran Member
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 993
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
That looks wicked!  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Grasshopper
Member
Joined: 07 May 2009
Posts: 167
Location: CA
|
| Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
This thing would be unbelievable with Thunderbolt and a single connection. I'm still probably going to buy one though. If it comes in under $400 that is.
_________________
2011 Mac mini with 8GB of RAM
2012 Mac mini Server with 16GB of RAM
46" Sony TV
24" HP LCD
Apple wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse
2 x 1TB MiniStacks
1TB MiniStack Max |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Rightondamark
Senior Member
Joined: 07 Jan 2007
Posts: 290
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:32 am Post subject: |
|
|
I didn't have much luck with the original Mini Stack due to constant fan noise, but I might be willing to give one of these a try. I like the idea of an AIO unit. Which is strange cause I sort of hate the iMac.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Smithcraft
Veteran Member
Joined: 09 Nov 2008
Posts: 3031
Location: Seattle
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:09 am Post subject: |
|
|
I saw mention of it at XLR8YOURMAC, and I was looking at.
Doesn't really seem well thought out. four USB ports, and one is lost connecting to the computer. Two FW800 ports, and one is lost connecting to the computer. ESATA, ok, what is it connecting to the computer with?
Plus it's freaking huge! Granted the new mini's are really big, but this case is huge compared to the mini.
I wonder if they will offer a 'bare' unit that you can use your own drive with, like they did with the discontinued previous models.
SC
_________________
Grumpy old man of computing.
[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8
[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)
Make sure it has pins! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
srfeo
New Member
Joined: 27 Jan 2009
Posts: 2
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:20 am Post subject: |
|
|
Hopefully the new stack is better than the old one. The old one was horrible with dropouts over FW800 and loud out of control fans.
Someone needs to make one with a thunderbolt connector to feed all these connections and the internal drive. Until then I stay with my trusty fanless Vantec USB enclosure for SuperDuper cloning, and my NAS for media streaming and backups. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bandit Bill
Veteran Member
Joined: 07 Jun 2005
Posts: 5805
Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 10:04 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Smithcraft wrote: | I saw mention of it at XLR8YOURMAC, and I was looking at.
Doesn't really seem well thought out. four USB ports, and one is lost connecting to the computer. Two FW800 ports, and one is lost connecting to the computer. ESATA, ok, what is it connecting to the computer with?
Plus it's freaking huge! Granted the new mini's are really big, but this case is huge compared to the mini.
I wonder if they will offer a 'bare' unit that you can use your own drive with, like they did with the discontinued previous models.
SC |
I wrote pretty much the same review last night but then erased my post because my post was so negative.
To me this seems like a PC product in a not so attractive mac mini+ sized case. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
g5g5
Veteran Member
Joined: 25 Jan 2005
Posts: 2725
Location: Virginia
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 12:36 pm Post subject: |
|
|
The card reader looks bad up front, but the rest seems to compliment the Mac mini. An aluminum enclosure about the same height as the Mac mini with Thunderbolt would be better though. It does take away the optical drive, but I would bet that's what most of us would rather have.
_________________
1.25GHz Mac Mini / 1.8GHz iMac G5 / 2.0GHz C2D Mac mini (2009)
4GB iPod mini / 2G iPod shuffle / 16GB iPhone 3G
Apple TV 2
iLife's a Bitch! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bandit Bill
Veteran Member
Joined: 07 Jun 2005
Posts: 5805
Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| g5g5 wrote: | | The card reader looks bad up front, but the rest seems to compliment the Mac mini. An aluminum enclosure about the same height as the Mac mini with Thunderbolt would be better though. It does take away the optical drive, but I would bet that's what most of us would rather have. |
I agree it's the card reader that kills the look.
A DVD or Blu-ray drive with a bay to accommodate a 3.5" drive or SSD with TB connectivity would have been the product more people would be interested in. Additional USB and firewire ports would be nice, but the above is likely the main things I think consumers would want.
Basically a super super drive that accommodates a hard drive as well.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Smithcraft
Veteran Member
Joined: 09 Nov 2008
Posts: 3031
Location: Seattle
|
| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I agree about the card reader. Maybe if they had made it so that the card could go in from the side(right around the corner from where it's at) it wouldn't look as bad...
SC
_________________
Grumpy old man of computing.
[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8
[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)
Make sure it has pins! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Y-Guy
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Feb 2010
Posts: 453
Location: Tri-Cities, WA
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Interesting but missing some key features, I don't bother with non-RAID enclosures anymore. HD's are to cheap and fail to often for me to risk my data without the backup of a RAID. Holding a 4TB 3.5" drive is nice, but where am I going to back it up at?
No Thunderbolt? FW 800 is nice, but come on OWC you are a MAC supporting company and Thunderbolt is where the Macs are heading, failing to leave this out is just mind boggling. I can understand if they have various flavors with different FW800, USB3 & Thunderbolt but honestly I can find other, cheaper units. eSATA? If they are trying to attract MacMini owners to this then what is the point?
DVD is nice but a Blueray drive would have really made it shine.
This appears to have been designed by a committee, its a hodgepodge.
_________________
iMac 24" 2.4 GHz 4GB | Logitech S530 | Z-2300 speakers | NewerTech Guardian MAXimus RAID
MacMini HTPC 2.26 GHz 2GB | Panasonic Plasma TV | Logitech diNovo Edge | Mercury Elite-AL Pro 800
AppleTV1 unhacked | Panasonic LCD |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Am Yisrael Chai!
Member
Joined: 22 Jul 2011
Posts: 121
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 2:51 pm Post subject: |
|
|
No thunderbolt is a deal breaker. What are they thinking?
_________________
Proud Cube owner. Oh, I also own a 2011 2.7ghz i7 Mac Mini. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KoderKev
Member
Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Posts: 95
Location: Independence, MO USA
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:50 am Post subject: What a disappointment |
|
|
Like many others, I was waiting for this to finally go up for sale, and like some of you, I find it a disappointment. I'm primarily looking for a BD for my 2011 mini. I wanted this unit to match my mini and provide an optical drive.
I don't need another HD, nor a card reader or esata. I have used all my USB outlets, so the hub would be nice. I do have a FireWire drive, but only the one, so more FireWire doesn't help me.
Then there's the sticker shock. $150 bucks bare bones for ports I already have. And that still doesn't get me a Blu-ray drive. Sad.
Sorry, OWC/NewerTech. You blew it.
Someone could make a fortune selling Blu-ray drives in a case that matched the mini.
_________________
"Nothing unreal exists." - Spock
2.3 ghz 2011 mini w/ 500gb HD & 8 gb RAM
2 tb ext. Time Machine HD "Superman"
1 tb ext. media HD "Batman"
16gb iPhone 4 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ 
Search 
Memberlist 
Photo Gallery
Register
Profile 
Log in to check your private messages 
Log in 
